Thank you to our 600 Christmas shoppers coming on the 6F of Wellington Street!!! We had a blast seeing everybody as Real Christmas spirit cannot be found online!
Laur Meyrieux was in the mood for sipping mulled wine meanwhile Leyla Bouzouba
enjoy some Dim Sum... Even Mabel Wong came to help me out while fixing her flat. We all got our Christmas gifts done while presenting Marijoli's collection.
Thanks to Neveen Aziz, Kelly Berlin and Marc-David Nathan to look after all of us on this Happy Shopping day!

Christmas parties are always a ton of fun. Celebrating the holiday season is something that most people look forward to all year. Getting together with family and friends, enjoying the winter white surroundings, getting warm and cozy by the fire, and enjoying with relish a variety of treats and delicious dishes. Come and celebrate with us a hot chocolate or a glass of wine during our private sale. Marielle will guide you to find the most exquisite XMas gift for your special one or just for yourself.

Mothers of daughters often dread the advent of the friendship
wars. "Uh oh, here it is," they often think as they see their daughter
come home crying from school for the first time because another girl
called her "a name". Most mothers don't want to remember the pain of
those years, and if they do, they certainly want to protect their
daughters from what they suffered; so they try to minimize it for their
daughter. "So what?" they may say. "What do you care what she says?
Don't let it bother you." Yet mothers find themselves often quite
helpless in this situation it's one of the first signs that they cannot
control the world for their growing daughters. "Should I call that
horrible girl's mother?" they ask themselves. They would love to protect
their child from the exclusion of being the one girl who is not invited
to the popular girls' party. And they may ask, "What do I do if my
daughter chooses girls who I think are undermining her confidence?" And,
"Why is my strong-minded daughter so influenced by her friends?"

Girls' friendships are passionate, but they are also painful

Why is it girls' friendships that are so often troubled that
teachers and school counsellors note that much of their non academic
work with adolescent girls is about friendship struggles dilemmas that
they also feel perplexed about how to handle. "Girls are in my office
all day complaining about each other," said one middle school principal.
"One day one's feelings are hurt. The next day it's another. I wish I
knew how to make this easier for them." A school counsellor remarked,
"The girls aren't violent as often as boys, but they take their fights
more personally, and argue more, and come to us constantly about their
problems with other girls. It's really hard to help them."
Well,
what I say about girls' and women's friendships may also be true of many
male friendships: certainly, in the early years, for both boys and
girls, play with other kids is a major social enterprise. But friendship
is clearly experienced - and performed - differently for girls and for
boys. By the age of four, girls and boys segregate themselves when they
play with peers and when they form friendships. Girls choose girls; boys
choose boys. If boys try to join a group of girls, they usually mean to
cause trouble. If a girl tries to join a group of boys, she is very
likely to be rejected. This segregation seems to be universal - across
culture and class, and occurs - especially in a school context, even
when the adults try to mix the children. Boys and girls like playing
with different things, and they also have very different play styles,
and distinctive cultures emerge in all-girls groups and in all-boy
groups. Boys are more "physical" in their play that girls, and engage in
a good deal of roughhousing. They form more obvious, and more stable,
hierarchies, and engage more directly in competition
with one another (fifty per cent of the play time, versus one per cent
of girls' play time). Girls sustain long, turn-taking conversations more
often than boys. More often than boys, girls express agreement with a
friend's suggestions. When they make suggestions of their own, they
often add a tag question (shall we? should we?) Boys are more likely to
use direct imperatives: ` give me, put it there', or prohibitions:
`don't do that', `get away from that'.

Gold memory from Cannes Festival

Conflict in girls' groups
can also go unnoticed because it is usually indirect: the competition is
for the more nebulous good of popularity (not, as in boys' games who
can throw furthest, who's the strongest); but who is best liked, who's
most likeable, or popular, or who is closer to the girl whom everyone
likes. The chief commodity in the girls' community is intimacy. Girls
monitor their friendships for subtle shifts in alliances, and they seek
to be friends with popular girls. Popularity is a kind of status, but it
also brings problems. Popular girls were often disliked because they
can be envied, they can be the target of gossip,
and they can be considered stuck up. Because the most important thing
in girls' friendship is intimacy, they cannot have masses of friends,
and so a popular girl, who attracts lots of other girls, must reject
some of those girls in order to preserve the intimacy in the
relationships she has. This makes her seem to others stuck up.
Popularity
is dangerous, too, because it is transient. Girls' hierarchies are much
less stable than those of boys', and so girls' are acutely aware of
subtle nuances of inclusion and exclusion. Girls' emphasis on closeness
and intimacy and understanding - does not always lead to nice and thoughtful behaviour. Such concern about intimacy arouses envy
and anxiety. Alienating tactics - excluding someone from play, and
spreading negative gossip about a girl, increase sharply with age, and
such tactics are almost never mentioned by boys. This buried conflict
causes girls' enormous pain - yet friendships are too important to give
up, just because they often hurt. Learning to negotiate the pitfalls of
friendship begins to seem the core of existence to the growing girl: the
potential for rejection, alongside the dependence, makes friendships
both powerful and dangerous - but few girls, or women, would give them
up: many say, "I don't know who I'd be without my friends."

1. Your jewelry caught my eye at the Liberatum Arts Festival when you were wearing a simple necklace and bracelet. You mentioned that you started production because so many people liked the pieces you created as gifts for your friends. Can you tell me how you turned the idea of Marijoli jewelry into reality?

As you mentioned, I was already producing the pieces for myself as I struggled to find jewellery that I really adored and were affordable. So it was really a case of scalability; and therefore finding a production partner that I could trust. I worked with factories in Japan initially, but surprisingly it was a challenge to achieve the level of quality that I needed with Japanese producers. I then used a family contact to launch production with a factory in Thailand. Once production was organized I set about trying to grow the brand recognition, I did a series of launch parties in Japan with other designers I respected, and worked with Miss Universe Japan, as a stylist…. [smiling] Obviously my jewellery was always top of my recommendations…

2. You were born and educated in Switzerland and moved to Japan to start your atelier in 2005 where the brand Marijoli was created. You are also a tremendous traveler and avid diver. What influenced you to relocate to Japan and how have your travels and diving experiences shaped your jewelry?

Japan was an opportunity offered to my husband with his work. He wasn’t keen, but I motivated him to go as it felt somehow part of our destiny to be there. We married late and moving to Japan meant that we were able to start afresh as a new couple. When I arrived I worked out of our apartment which had an amazing view of Mount Fuji and the Tokyo skyline. I also started training to be a yoga instructor. As a result, my first work was very zen and the theme of simplicity has been maintained throughout my later creations. Diving became a part of my life on our honeymoon in the Maldives and later in Palau which is one of the seven wonders of the diving world. The underwater world had a large influence on what I did, as I drew on natures wonderful and basic architecture witnessed in much of the plant life, particularly coral.

4. What are your favorite materials to work with?

A stone is always a very personal thing, and I really enjoy working with clients to find the stone that ‘speaks’ to them when working on bespoke pieces.

5. Can you tell me the secret of modern elegance?

Good question! It’s something we are all after and it’s my goal to always observe and stay close to my customers and find out what makes them shine. There is no general answer to this question, but we all have the potential for it in our own individual way. [Eyes lighting up] I can help you find it.

6. You aim to work on materials that can be recycled and not re-sold. Sustainability issues seem to be at the forefront of the media today; can you discuss your views on this in regards to the jewelry industry?

The industry has always been fond of recycling. Obviously that will always be the case with high value base materials. Gold mining and Diamond mining come with environmental and social problems, but even if everybody in jewellery production aimed to use recycled products, that would not stop the mining of gold and Diamonds. On a positive note, on a few occasions, I have had someone come to me with something that has sentimental value, but is not to their taste asking that I create something new for them using the components.

7. Many of your designs feature a coral style pattern that captures negative space. Did you learn this method during your studies at University of Art and Design Lausanne in Switzerland, or did you develop it in Japan?

My degree gave me a base that I could build and evolve from, I like to think that I retain the practicality of industrial design in all of my work.

11. Jewelry is passed down from generation to generation, and the most treasured pieces have often been inherited from loved ones. Can you give me some insight into how you feel having a child will affect both your work and your collection?

The new trend is ‘push gifts’. A natural evolution of the inheritance process will be a passing on of the push gift to the relevant child. I don’t think having a child will much affect my designs, essentially I try to achieve a balance of elegance with modern style, so fashion and its evolution are very important.

12. You’re pieces are very personal, however with celebrities such as Madonna and Kate Moss wearing your designs sometimes it is hard to retain this. How do you plan to preserve the private aura of your jewelry?

I have two lines. Marijoli which is what you find on our online boutique principally made of sterling silver and plated in either gold or rhodium and produced in larger quantities while Marielle Byworth is the brand for masterpieces and bespoke work. MB is the ‘fine jewelry’ line and is only available on private order. In that way we can individualize and preserve the aura of our creation.

13. Marijoli designs cater to many different markets. In your opinion what is the biggest difference between Asian and European consumers of your designs?

I would say that is not a big difference for us as we tend to reach a certain type of clients that have the same taste and habit and lifestyle. The brand is for girls with individual style, and the confidence to wear it.

14. The 9th Muse is very similar to your brand, modern yet elegant at the same time. It is a fabulous platform for jewelers to showcase and sell their designs. How were you first introduced to Jing and Charlotte from the company?

I heard of the shop while ago before it opened from a friend of Charlotte called Piecco Pang and then I met Jing at a private party. We had a quick chat and met again in their shop…We clicked and decided to give it a try for this summer.

15. You mentioned that you would like to extend the collection to bags, belts and accessories. Are there any designs in the works?

I used to do a lot of collaboration in the past with fashion designers, and artists. One of particular prominence was the swimwear collection branded Ma&Ma which was a way for me to experiment with different mediums and widen my offering. Since moving to Hong Kong I have refocused on jewellery, as I think there is so much to do in it and I want to give our beautiful women a chance to shine

16. What is next for the Marijoli brand?

Most likely a branded shop front, or at least a studio with a show room. Location is difficult though as I need to be able to disconnect from the intense energy of Hong Kong.

We are a jewellery design and manufacture firm specializing in fashion jewellery and bespoke one off pieces. Marijoli has been doing business since early 2005, so we are into our eighth year in operation.

2. When did you set-up in Hong Kong?

We set up in HK after moving from Japan in late 2009. Following the end of the financial crisis, surprisingly started to see the demise of the expat community there, so the move was logical.

3. Why did you set-up here?

Hong Kong is actually a far more cosmopolitan market than Japan, and as such a far better fit for Marijoli and particularly the bespoke line. People like to cause a stir when they enter a room in Hong Kong... Tokyo is quite the opposite.

4. Do you feel that Hong Kong is a good place to start a business?

Hong Kong is a great place to start a business. Thanks to the British framework that surrounds much of Company legal infrastructure, it is a very simple and transparent place to set up a company.

5. What have been the advantages and opportunities here that you may not have had in Switzerland?

Switzerland has a lot of onerous employment costs, whereas Hong Kong is a lot more flexible, again mirroring the UK. Although I do miss the long lunches.

6. What types of challenges have you encountered doing business here?

The biggest challenge here has being trying to negotiate with the Chinese factories, which has been extremely difficult. We have had some bad experiences and as a result moved the majority of production to Thailand, which for similar pricing is much higher quality.

7. Upon reflection of your own journey, what are the top three key business tips that you could give colleagues in Switzerland who wish to come to Hong Kong to try their hand at starting a business here?

Just come and do it! It is so easy.If you need to negotiate with the Chinese, get a Chinese partner in the enterprise. Finding someone you can trust can be hard. Invest time in training your team. Cantonese people are extremely efficient if they are clear on what they are supposed to be doing. Take a little extra time making that investment.

Most people don’t realize that every piece of jewellery even the
most expensive ages and degenerates with time. Everyday activities can
damage your jewellery. It doesn’t take a hard bump to damage the claw
or setting and leave your diamond or gemstone exposed to chipping,
breaking or falling out.

Your diamonds can come loose when the piece is dropped, gets
knocked against your kitchen tiles or in between plates while washing
up, or is bumped against any hard surface.

The claws may get pulled off the diamonds or gemstones after being caught on a piece of clothing or in between shopping bags.

You might be at the gym and accidently bump the exercise equipment or weights.

Gardening or physically intensive jobs and activities can loosen the stones in their settings.

This why I started to REJUVENATE jewellery starting with my friend who were so afraid to tell her husband that she lost a diamond on her ring after a night out in Cave des Rois in St Tropez...

...Or recycling all the left over jewellery from your ex-boyfriend into a new necklace. Here is an example that I made this weekwith a ring that had a missing diamond.

There was a time when offering shoppers a glass of champagne was enough to make them feel special. Or adding a client’s monogramme on a bag was already going the distance towards making them feel that they are buying something exclusive. But with the influx of new high net worth consumers from Russia and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries, luxury brands have had to be creative in marketing and selling to this new level of super-wealthy. Montblanc has hosted small parties for their high net worth customers in their stores with concerts by its brand ambassador, the pianist Lang Lang. Chanel VIPs and couture clients are given guided tours of Coco’s apartment above the store on Rue Cambon. Savile Row tailors offer workroom tours to their clients. Kilgour even flies its tailors all over the world for fittings with their elite customers. Early this year, it was reported that designers Diane von Furstenberg and Oscar de la Renta hosted cocktail parties and private fashion shows to a group of über wealthy Chinese shoppers visiting New York. Luxury brands recognize the buying power of high net worth Chinese, which is why they have made it imperative that there be Mandarin speakers in their stores located in tourism capitals like New York, London, Paris, Madrid and even Dubai.

The rising number of the super-rich elite also seesan increased demand for bespoke fashion services.

In Hong Kong, the Peninsula Hotel organizes exclusive shopping tours for their mainland Chinese guests, which includes use of the hotel’s Rolls Royce cars and shutting down an entire store especially for their guests’ shopping enjoyment. They’ve also introduced the Lifestyle Academy, a finishing school of sorts for Words Divia Harilelahttp://www.the-dvine.com/ Blue Carreon Art Direction Tony Law Photography Ching millionaires to help them improve their style and to learn more about the luxury lifestyle. Concierge services and styling firms that are committed to meeting the demands and whims of the super-rich have also sprouted. One such company is the newly formed Hong Kong-based Superficial, which its founders Sam Roseman and Nick Troedson describe as catering “to savvy shoppers who are not just looking for an exclusive shopping experience, but who are in search of unrivaled access to luxury and exclusive brands with an accent on personalized styling from top to toe”. Superficial clients are picked up from their hotels, driven to flagship stores and whisked away to private rooms for a day of shopping and styling services. Special dinners can also be arranged at the stores followed by mini-fashion shows. Highlife Asia is another concierge that offers the same kind of luxury VIP shopping experience. They take it a step further by arranging private jets or first-class tickets to take their clients to shopping destinations like New York, London, Hong Kong and Shanghai. But if you want to know where the real fashion insiders go, then you need to enlist the talents of a tried and tested professional like Laila Easum http://laila-easum.blogspot.hk/.

“My clients want to get their fashion as soonas possible, way before the stores.”

The stylish Parisian has been dressing Asian and Middle Eastern royalty for over 15 years, but has been in the industry since the 1980s. Born and raised in Paris, she went to fashion school where she interned at Christian Dior, learning everything from sketching and fabrics, to how to sell. Although she dreamed of working in the theater, she was hired by Yves Saint Laurent himself in 1987 to oversee his fashion shows abroad. Soon she became a seconde vendeuse at Saint Laurent’s haute couture salon, liaising with rich women looking to buy custom made pieces.

After five years, she was approached by Olivier Lapidus, son of famous French designer Ted Lapidus, who wanted to create a haute couture salon catering to the young generation. They launched the business from scratch and Easum stayed on until 1998 when she relocated to Tokyo with her husband (she is now based between Tokyo and Paris). Looking for something that afforded her more flexibility, she began to develop her own personal styling business at the request of her longtime clients. “It all came naturally. I started by complementing the dresses. My clients would request shoes and handbags that matched so I would find the material and enlist an atelier in Paris to manufacture the shoes individually. Eventually my clients became more demanding — it wasn’t just accessories and clothes anymore, they wanted everything from luggage to wedding trousseaus,” she says.

Drawing from her old contacts as well as the Internet, Easum started to develop a strong network of fashion elite, ranging from young brands to haute couture ateliers in Paris. Since many of her clients are royalty ranging from women in their 20s to 50s, they demand exclusivity. As a result, she boasts direct connections to Zac Posen, Peter Copping at Nina Ricci, Reem Acra and Vera Wang. “My clients want to gettheir fashion as soon as possible, way before the stores. Often I order my pieces immediately after the shows through the designers themselves. Usually it’s a mix of ready-to wear and couture depending on their needs.” She also boasts unlimited access to Christian Louboutin’s private atelier in Paris. “It reminds me of a scene from Pinocchio in Geppetto’s workshop. They can make anything they want or they can choose a pair from a current collection and customize it. One of my clients loved [this season’s] plastic and neon shoe so she had it made with a leather heel,” she says. While most of her clients are fond of luxury brands, she is constantly on the look out for new, edgy designers. Top of her list at the moment are Sofia 203 for handmade accessories, jewellery from AS29 and Marielle Byworth http://http://www.marijoli.com/bespoke/, and Perrin Paris for bags. For now her services are exclusive to women although she does rule out menswear altogether. “If my client likes a certain menswear designer, I will approach them for her and create something special. Why not?” she says.

Hosted by the talented Artist Sonia Falcone at Hong Kong's Intercontinental Presidential Suite my bump was the center of the attention for my second Baby Shower. I'm still wearing Blue as I cant believe I will have a girl despite all the scans that Dr. Lord gave me.

Here are some of the wonderful moments orchestrated by Sonia in just four days, joined by other beautiful friends that could attend in such a short notice. Thank you all for your wishes and gifts!

Located just off the city’s historic Place des Lices and kitty-corner
from Lanvin’s newly minted pop-up shop digs for 2012, THE SPACE @ Le Cabanon of Maison Blanc Bleu
is an essential stop for shoppers visiting this infamous hometown of
Brigitte Bardot. The beautiful Julias Van Hagen and Tallulah Ruffus Isaacs will be there to welcome you to THE SPACE.

Tap into the blissful spirit of St. Tropez, with its warm sandy beaches
and rejuvenating sea breeze! To help you get in the spirit, Marielle Byworth
is giving you St. Tropez best selection of cuff from Marijoli to hit the dance floor of les Caves du Roi ! St. Tropez is known for its
ability to revive the soul, but we can’t always hop on the next flight
to France. Luckily, you’ll always look fresh and full of joie de vivre
when you adorn these radiant Marijoli's cuff.

What's a push gift? It's a present your hubs gets you for carrying and
generally pushing the baby out (and don't worry: C-section moms
definitely deserve one too). Of course that gorgeous baby is reward
enough, but if there's one person who deserves a little spoiling, it's a
woman who's just rocked! Although jewellery is the most
traditional pick, I have come up with a few other unconventional ideas
and no surprise I have received more and more demand for my Bespoke line in Hong-Kong during THE Dragon babie's era...Guys!...Seriously, its not enough to book Matilda's Hospital those days ;)

Rich celebrities are accustomed to being gifted with expensive
jewellery, and the trend extends to the day they give birth. Case in
point: Pierce Brosnan gave wife Keely three gold and diamond bracelets
when their son Paris was born. Ben Affleck presented wife Jennifer
Garner with pricey purple jewellery after she delivered daughter Violet
(which the unfussy and practical Mrs. Affleck reportedly made him
return). Sarah Jessica Parker got a gorgeous charm bracelet from hubby
Matthew Broderick when son James made his debut. Other celeb dads
celebrate the arrival of their new babies by buying their wives and
girlfriends expensive bling such as diamond rings, diamond earrings,
pearl necklaces, pearl earrings, and jewellery made with their baby's
birthstone...

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A touch of the Creator

For me, it's all about pleasing the girls, the cool girls. I really want this to be successful, and also to make something that moves jewellery and art forward. There's not enough focus in life on beauty and aesthetics. It's really positive to be focused on that.